Michael Andrew Carrington (born Michael Andrew Chuprin-Plicha, 5 May 1961), is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

broadcast media executive who is currently Director, Entertainment and Specialist at the ABC based in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. He oversees all national radio, television, and digital services including ABC TV (ABC1), ABC TV Plus (ABC2),

ABC ME ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3. Hist ...

, ABC Kids plus

ABC iview ABC iview is a video on demand and catch-up TV service run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Currently iview video content can only be viewed by users in Australia. As of 2016, ABC iview attracts around 50 million plays monthly and ...

, ABC Listen, ABC Kids Listen,

ABC Classic FM ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. I ...

ABC Jazz ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

ABC Country ABC Country is a digital radio station, available on mobile devices, DAB+ digital radio, digital TV and online. A small number of self-help retransmissions, mainly in West Australia and Queensland also carry the station's programme stream. It ...

, and

Radio National Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. History 1937: Predecessors a ...

Early life

Of Russian and English descent, Carrington was born in 1961 in

Camden, New South Wales Camden is a historic town and suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, located 65 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district. Camden was the administrative centre for the local government area of Camden Council until July/August ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

to Hubert John Plicha and Elaine Marshall. The family lived in

Campbelltown, New South Wales Campbelltown is a suburb located on the outskirts of the metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney south-west of the Sydney central business district by road. Campbelltown is the adminis ...

until 1974 when they moved to

Parkes, New South Wales Parkes is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the main settlement in the local government area of Parkes Shire. Parkes had a population of 11,224 as at 30 June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2 ...

, where Carrington attended

Parkes High School , motto_translation = While I live, I learn , location = Parkes, Central West, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary ...

graduating in 1979. Carrington's father was born Vitalik Aleksandrovich Chuprin (russian: Виталий Александрович Чуприн) in

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the Eas ...

, Russia and is a direct descendant of Jacob Wiens, a co-founder of the

Mennonites Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

. Carrington's paternal grandmother, Margarita Chuprin (né
Wiens
had remarried after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and his father's name was changed by adoption. They emigrated to Australia, sailing on the ''Fairsea'', departing

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

, Italy 3 December 1949, and arriving in Sydney on New Year's Eve.

Career

After working as a DJ o
Radio Station 2PK
in Australia, he joined the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister o ...

as a communications sailor. Following a four-year commission he joined the children's department at

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of fiv ...

, where he worked on the magazine show ''

Ridgey Didge ''Ridgey Didge'' was a popular Network Ten magazine television programme for children in Australia. The name is an Australian slang term meaning honest, true or the real thing. Format A long-running series of 52-minute programmes, each studi ...

'' and the game shows '' Double Dare'' and ''

Family Double Dare ''Double Dare'' is an American television game show in which two teams compete to win cash and prizes by answering trivia questions and completing messy stunts known as physical challenges. It originally ran from 1986 to 1993. A revival ran in ...

''. On immigrating to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

in 1990, he joined the Bought Films Unit at BBC television. A year later he joined the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Chan ...

Europe as an acquisitions executive. He was appointed deputy head of programme acquisitions in 1993 for BBC Children's Television, latterly seconded to research and develop broadcast strategy for

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 7–16 ...

and

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...

with the deputy director of television, David Docherty. In May 2000 he joined LEGO TV & Film as Head of Television and New Media, responsible for programme development and production, where he was co-executive producer on ''

Little Robots ''Little Robots'' is a British stop-motion animated children's television series, produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for Create TV & Film and broadcast on CBeebies (the BBC's children's channel). The series was based on the eponymous book by Mik ...

''. In 2004 he joined the BBC as head of animation & acquisitions, where he gained broadcast rights over ''

Lunar Jim ''Lunar Jim'' is a Canadian animated science-fiction stop-motion television series that aired from January 2, 2006 to April 24, 2012. The series centered around Lunar Jim, an astronaut on the blue moon L22. The series, produced by Halifax Film ...

'', ''

The Koala Brothers ''The Koala Brothers'' is a British stop-motion animated children's television show that features the adventures of 2 koala brothers named Frank and Buster, as they seek to help their friends in a sleepy town in the Australian outback. Seventy-n ...

'' and '' LazyTown''. He commissioned a variety of UK-made animation series including ''

Charlie and Lola Charlie and Lola are fictional children created by the English writer and illustrator Lauren Child in 2000. They were introduced in a series of picture books and later adapted as animated television characters. Lola is an energetic and imaginat ...

'', ''

Shaun the Sheep ''Shaun the Sheep'' is a British stop-motion television series and a spin-off of the '' Wallace and Gromit'' franchise. The title character is Shaun (previously featured as the sheep named "Shaun" in the 1995 short film '' A Close Shave'' and t ...

'', ''

The Snow Queen "The Snow Queen" ( da, Snedronningen) is an original fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published 21 December 1844 in '' New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection'' (''Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Anden Samli ...

'', '' Timmy Time'' and ''

The Secret Show ''The Secret Show'' is a British animated television series produced by Collingwood O'Hare and commissioned by BBC Worldwide in partnership with BBC Children's. The series premiered on 16 September 2006 during TMi on BBC Two. The series premie ...

''. In May 2006, the commissioning of the BBC's Children services was split into two and Carrington was appointed the controller of

, taking responsibility for all the channels output across Radio, Television and Online; commissioning award-winning programmes like '' In the Night Garden...'', '' Something Special'' and ''

Waybuloo ''Waybuloo'' is a computer-generated imagery, CGI television series created by Dan Good and Absolutely Cuckoo. It was commissioned by Michael Carrington (television executive), Michael Carrington at the BBC, and first aired on CBeebies in May 20 ...

''. Carrington cast CBeebies' first disabled presenter,

Cerrie Burnell Claire "Cerrie" Burnell (born 30 August 1979) is an English actress, singer, playwright, children's author, and former television presenter for the BBC children's channel CBeebies. In 2018, she portrayed the role of Penny Stevenson in the BBC s ...

, as a permanent member of the presenting team in 2009. In April 2010, Carrington was appointed chief content officer for

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...

EMEA EMEA is a shorthand designation meaning Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The acronym is used by institutions and governments, as well as in marketing and business when referring to this region: it is a shorthand way of referencing the two ...

Turner Broadcasting System Europe Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. The subsidiary is responsible for managing the collection of their cable and satellite networks around the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions. History WarnerMedia ...

, and General Manager of TBS Studios Arabia. He also served as chairman of the Turner LazyTown Operational Board, and was

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

of '' LazyTown'' and ''

The Amazing World of Gumball ''The Amazing World of Gumball'' is an animated sitcom created by Ben Bocquelet for Cartoon Network. The series concerns the lives of 12-year-old Gumball Watterson, an anthropomorphic blue cat, and adoptive goldfish brother Darwin, who attend ...

''. Carrington joined

HIT Entertainment HIT Entertainment Limited (commonly written as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Sop ...

in February 2013 to oversee its content slate, ''

Thomas the Tank Engine Thomas the Tank Engine is an anthropomorphised fictional tank locomotive in the British ''Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher, published from 1945. He became the most popular and famous character in the series, ...

'', ''

Bob the Builder ''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment and Hot Animation. The series follows the adventures of Bob, a building contractor, specialising in masonry, along with ...

'', ''

Fireman Sam ''Fireman Sam'' ( Welsh: ') is a Welsh animated children's television series about a fireman named Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other residents in the fictional Welsh rural village of Pontypandy (a portmanteau of two real towns, Pontypridd ...

'', and ''

Mike the Knight ''Mike the Knight'' is a CGI-animated children's television series created by Alexander Bar and written by Marc Seal. The series premiered in Treehouse TV in 2011. Premise The series is about Mike whose father, the King, is a knight who is away ...

'' globally. In July 2014 it was announced that Carrington was appointed

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of UK production company The Foundation, which became part of Zodiak Kids Studios in April 2015, as well as Marathon Media and Tele-Images Productions each based in France. Carrington led the Zodiak Kids Studios umbrella brand as its CEO, before moving to ABC-TV in Sydney. At

MIPCOM MIPCOM (Marché International des Programmes de Communication, English: International Market of Communications Programmes) is an annual trade show held in the French town of Cannes, traditionally in the month of October and running for 4 days. I ...

in October 2017, Carrington was awarded with the World Screen Kids Trendsetter Award for his contribution to the global children's media industry.

Organizations

Michael Carrington is a founder

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of th
Children's Media Foundation
and serves on the advisory committee for th
Children's Media Conference
He is a member of the

British Academy of Film and Television Arts British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

(BAFTA), a member of the

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsib ...

and the

International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (IATAS) is an American nonprofit membership organization, based in New York City, composed of leading media and entertainment executives across all sectors of the television industry, from o ...

References

External links

Michael Carrington Biography

Children's Media Foundation
* *
Who's Who

Zodiak Kids Studios

ABC Children
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrington, Michael 1961 births Living people Businesspeople from Sydney Royal Australian Navy sailors Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom British television executives BBC executives Australian people of Russian descent Australian people of English descent Australian television executives